Posted on Sat, Sep. 8, 2007
Principles of Uncertainty. If this one-night-only tribal event by Miro Dance Theatre expounded on anything, it was on the power of percussion and performance to bring people together. Approaching the venue, a lot at Race and 2nd, just as the first of three 15-minute shows finished, it seemed as though a thousand watchers were leaving or hovering there, in a space transformed by art.
Arranged in concentric circles, with a main drum (like a Native American ceremonial drum)at the center, the space was scattered with 50 drum kits and drummers. Beginning with a slow unified beat, the pulse picked up velocity and sonic complexity. Dancers accumulated too, dressed in white, running at top speed in two directions around a circular track. Collisions sent them reeling off course to sweep and stagger through onlookers. It reminded me of the 1980s Drastic Classicism of Karole Armitage and Rhys Chatham, taking upright, trained dancers and throwing them into an aural mosh pit.
I AM REALLY ATTACHED TO THIS AND HOPE IT CAN STAY BUT OFFER IT AS A WORST-CASE CUT
The ending was a slow-down, retrograding back to one beat and stillness. The palindrome form made for an easy-read, fun experience.
Throughout, projected on the highhigh walls of adjacent buildings were a digital video clock, a rushing pan of cityscapes, and a panel showing dancers of all stripes including Indian classical and butoh.
The show felt like Philly's answer to Burning Man, albeit urban and confined; a celebration to multiply the pleasures of the already celebratory First Friday. - Lisa Kraus
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